My main apps are Pocket, Feedly, SkyDrive, Box.net, OneNote Mobile, Patterns (which I just tested, is great for wallpapers), Tweet Lanes (great Twitter client, lacks push notifications at this time, but is not important for me atm), Tweedle is another good Twitter client, TuneIn Radio, Pinterest, Fancy....

The Nexus 7 is a great tablet. I use it mostly for reading books but the performance and responsiveness of Android with Jelly Bean's Project Butter is great.

I am new to Android too and also bought a nexus 7 and love it as much as you do. I find myself using it all the time and not my iPad. I got all the standard apps that I need like Bank of America, Facebook, and a bunch others. I also bought some games which run VERY good on the Nexus. I'd like to see an essentials list as all.